Rana temporaria, Linnaeus, 1758

Ah, decisions, decisions, decisions...

Most troubling here - which species to feature next?

This decision is easily avoided, or at least postponed, by a random number generator. So here's number 602:

Photographed in a pond near Wimborne, Dorset, in August 2011, using an Olympus E-420 with a Zuiko 40-150mm lens and 2 KOOD magnifiers.

This uninformative view doesn't tell much about it, but this is in fact;

Rana temporaria 

Linnaeus 1758

which needs little introduction. It's the Common Frog of much of Europe, from the Mediterranean to the Arctic, and in the UK, where this one was photographed, it's readily identifiable as the only widely seen frog that isn't a true toad.

While I recognise that it might be snappier to say "It's the only widely seen true frog", it's worth noting that while the term "True Toad" is biologically valid; "True Frog" is... not. True toads belong to Bufonidae, and are fairly distinctive and, importantly, seem to be monotypic. "True Frog" is a) misleading, as all members of Anura can be correctly referred to as frogs; b) misused, often to group all wet-skinned, tailless frogs together in one big, paraphyletic group; and c) even when applied correctly (to the Ranidae), refers to a phylogenetically iffy family. 

Anyhow, on with the show:

 - Raninae  
 - Ranidae     
 - Ranoidea      
See also Chiromantis xerampelina
 [ - Neobatrachia ]
- Acosmanura      
- Pipanura               
 - Bombinanura          
- Anura                         
 - Salienta                         
 - Batrachia                         
 - Lissamphibia                      
 - Amphibia                               
- Tetrapoda                                  
See also  Hipposideros vittatus, Sterna hirundo, Chalcophaps indica, Ardea goliath, Burhinus vermiculatus, Lygodactylus capensis, Trachylepis varia and Thelotornis capensis.
- Sarcopterygii                                
- Osteichthys                                      
See also Synchiropus splendidus.
- Teleostomi                                          
 - Gnathostomata                                      
- Vertebrata                                                 
 - Craniata                                                       
- Chordata                                                         
- Deuterostomia                                                    
- Nephrozoa                                                             
See also  Pephricus, Anoplocnemis curvipes, Ranatra, Grypocoris stysi, Dolichotachina caudata, Diasemopsis meigenii, Helophilus pendulus, Episyrphus balteatus, Senaspis haemorrhoa, Megistocera filipes, Panorpa germanica, Acada biseriata, Anthocharis cardamines, Laelia robusta, Zebronia phenice, Crambus pascuella, Andrena nigroaenea, Astata tropicalis, Synagris proserpina, Vespula germanica, Hagenomyia tristis, Demetrias atricapillus, Anthia fornasiini, Melolontha melolontha, Malachius bipustulatus, Otiorhynchus atroapterus, Cheilomenes lunata, Sibylla, Stictogryllacris punctata, Lobosceliana loboscelis, Cyathosternum prehensile, Rhyothemis semihyalina, Pseudagrion hageni, Enallagma cyathigerum, Ligia oceanica, Dicranopalpus ramosus, Enoplognatha ovata, Argiope bruennichi and Hyllus argyrotoxus.
- Bilateralia                                                                  

- Eumetazoa                                                                    

- Animalia                                                                           

- Eukaryota                                                                             

It's important to note that this family tree is my own hodgepodge of bits I consider likely, and some I don't but haven't identified a better alternative yet, and doesn't necessarily reflect up-do-date or even popular phylogenies. 

As you may imagine, this small and innocuous species is harmless, limits populations of 'nuisance pests' such as large flies, and can add a pleasingly natural call to any garden's evening sounds. Although it isn't considered a priority species, it is suffering in the UK, where continued high levels of pollution and agricultural chemical use, development of road infrastructure, and almost total disturbance of habitats over many areas all take heavy tolls.

On that happy note,

That's all, folks.